On April 18th, 2024, the California Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously recognized the uplisting of our state reptile, the Mojave Desert Tortoise, from “threatened” to “endangered” under the California Endangered Species Act. This was the result of a multi-year effort that resulted in the filing of the uplisting petition by the Defenders of Wildlife, Desert Tortoise Council, and the Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife analyzed and supported this petition. (Source: Desert Tortoise Council)

The federal US Fish and Wildlife Service lists the species as “threatened” as of 1990. The State of California also has its own California Endangered Species Act, or “CESA,” which had previously listed the tortoise as “threatened” as well. Both terms “endangered” and “threatened” fall under the umbrella of the federal and state endangered species acts and can be a source of confusion on these terms. Listing the tortoise as “endangered” now under CESA will provide additional protections not afforded under the previous status listing. Check out CDFW’s CESA page for more information on this process.

Here at Transition Habitat Conservancy, we have been hard at work collecting data on the desert tortoise in our Western Mojave project areas. We own and manage nearly 5,000 acres of land near Boron and Kramer Junction, California. We also assist the Bureau of Land Management in managing and caring for an additional 260,000 acres in this same region. The agency also designated this region as a Critical Habitat Unit for desert tortoises, so work here is more important than ever to ensure their survival. Our grant award from the Wildlife Conservation Board is allowing our organization and our partner Hardshell Labs to comb through this region to find tortoises in new areas, analyze the conditions of their habitat such as plant species present, as well as other factors like slope aspect and other abiotic (non-living) variables that could suggest why they are surviving in certain areas of the desert over others.

We had the pleasure of hosting an intern from California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), to assist us with this crucial work. Mariah Somarriba is a biology and math major and an aspiring veterinarian. She was selected from a pool of 15 interested and qualified students to help on this grant project. She just finished her time with us but was invaluable in collecting data through measurements, documentation, photography, and her superb analytical and observational skills. THC has had the pleasure of hosting two paid interns so far from CSUSB who have assisted our conservation work in various ways while gaining valuable resume experience for themselves in the process.

Our organization plans to attend the upcoming Mountaineer Days event. If you are interested in learning more about what we do or would like to be a part of what we do here, please stop by our booth and visit us! You can also visit our website here to view any upcoming educational events we host, as well as learn about the land, plants animals and people we protect and serve.